Triple whammy: Delhi in grip of dengue, chikungunya and malaria

Dengue is on the rise in the city following monsoon showers. Nearly 300 cases of the vector-borne disease were reported by city hospitals in the week ending on August 28, taking the total number of cases to 945.

This is higher than the number of cases recorded during the same period last year (644) and in 2015 (831), when Delhi had its worst ever dengue crisis that affected nearly 16,000 and killed 60.

“We must look at the number of cases of dengue reported by Delhi residents because the impact of our breeding control activities is limited to people living in Delhi. We cannot reduce the number of people coming from neighbouring states. And, this year the number of cases of dengue reported in Delhi citizens is much less than previous years,” said a Delhi government health department official.

Of the 945 cases reported till August end, only 435 patients were residents of Delhi, with the rest travelling from neighbouring states to Delhi for treatment.

City doctors have also said that the number of cases being reported from the city is currently less than during the 2015 outbreak. “In 2015, Delhi had a major dengue outbreak and the numbers being reported right now are around 25% of the number of cases we were receiving that year. However, this year the patients are coming in with extreme abdominal pain, which is considered to be a red flag when it comes to dengue,” said Dr Srikant Sharma, senior consultant of medicine at Moolchand hospital.

The first official dengue death was reported by the corporation last week. A 12-year-old boy died of dengue at city’s Sir Ganga Ram hospital.

However, it is not just dengue; even chikungunya and malaria are on the rise in the city.

The same day-biting mosquito aedes aegypti spreads both dengue and chikungunya. Delhi hospitals have reported 339 cases of chikungunya, which is less than the 432 cases that had been recorded during the same period last year. Last year, Delhi had a chikungunya outbreak that affected 7,760 people.

There has also been a rise in malaria cases, which is caused by plasmodium parasite, transmitted by anopheles mosquito. More than 500 cases of malaria have been reported by the municipal corporations till August 26. Of these, 244 are Delhi residents. This is again much higher than the number of cases reported during the same time in 2016 (319) and in 2015 (149).